Description

This paper considers the generic activities involved in research and some
issues that underlie whatever specific methodologies the investigator
selects. A general definition of research (or empirical inquiry as it is
generally termed in the paper), broad enough to encompass multiple
research traditions and methodologies, is developed: systematic
connection of observation of the empirical world with abstraction about
the empirical world in ways that consciously seek to identify and control
for bias and thus provide the most complete view that is relevant to
the purposes and focus of the inquiry. Five activities necessary in the
process of empirical inquiry are discussed: (a) finding a focus,
(b) describing the problem to be investigated, (c) selecting the
phenomena in the empirical world to observe, (d) observing the
phenomena, and (e) analyzing and interpreting the observations. Each
activity is described, major issues are considered, and, where appropriate,
alternative approaches represented by deductive and inductive research
traditions are presented.

Issue Date:

1992

Publisher:

Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Citation Info:

In L.S. Estabrook (ed) Applying research to practice : how to use data collection and research to improve library management decision making (Papers presented at the Allerton Park Institute held October October 27-29, 1991): 97-116.